ISLAMABAD, Sept 7: Air pollution is rising in the city's I-9 industrial area but the Environment Protection Agency (EPA) can do little because its Environment Monitoring System (EMS) has been gasping for funds for months.

Environmentalists say that the EPA is out on a limb since the Federal Ministry of Environment was devolved to the provinces and funds to the EMS blocked. An official watching the development told Dawn that the EMS had been lying dormant since it was put under the development division of the federal capital's administration. “Because the EPA has no funds to run it, no notices could be issued to the polluting industries during the last three months,” he said.

According to the EPA website, Japan had granted the EMS project Rs973 million in the form of machinery and equipment while the Pakistan government was to provide Rs260 million to run it.

Its function was to send weekly and monthly monitoring reports about air quality to EPA to warn and act against the pollutants.

“There are several industries in the area which are the main polluters but cannot be taken to task because the EMS is not operational,” sources said.

A visit to I-9 industrial area revealed few steel mills still operating there, spewing poisonous gases into the air.

“I can't stand this massive black smoke, not even for a few minutes and have to wear a mask to pass through the I-9 industrial area,” moaned Majid Khan, a resident of main market of I-9 sector. His physician has diagnosed him of dust allergy.

When questioned about the situation, the director general of the Pak-EPA, Assadullah Faiz, admitted that the EMS was inoperative and said he too was concerned at the rising pollution in the city.

Conscious that “the air pollution must be very high now”, he said at least six steel mills were still working in the Industrial Area, thanks to the dysfunctional monitoring set up.

The strict check in the past used to keep the polluters on their toes and the air in I-9 industrial area relatively cleaner.

“We are terribly concerned that pollution has gone up but hope to fix the problem once funds are released for the EMS operations,” the EPA chief said.